zonic says the "Sokols" team is "a little shaky" at the BLAST Open Porto

The "Falcons" team is wrapping up its run at the BLAST Open Porto, and the team plans to make significant changes to its strategy. In a recent interview, coach Zonic discussed maintaining high energy levels, map selection, and the challenges of organizing on Ancient. Let’s summarize.

Zonic talks about Team Falcons in a new interview for BLAST

The Counter-Strike org team Team Falcons kicked off 2025 and 2026 on a high note with a victory at the IEM Cologne Major, but since that summer break, their trophy case has remained empty. In a new interview with BLAST staff on September 4 at BLAST Open Porto, coach Danny “zonic” Sorensen shared a fresh perspective on the team’s status.

Admitting that the team had been feeling “a little unsure of itself,” Zonic said that 2026 “hasn’t been what we expected […] The start of the season was a little rough. I think that applies to a lot of top teams.”

“Obviously, I’m focused solely on my own team,” Zonic clarified. He said he’s glad to remain in the tournament but, “to be honest, a little disappointed that things aren’t going so smoothly.”

Carrigan and the “Sokols” Training Camp

In an interview with Sam McKenzie, Zonic pointed to the delay leading up to the Major as part of the problem. He explained that as soon as former FaZe IGL Carrigan joined the roster, the team went through something like a two-month boot camp, entirely focused on preparing for this one event. “I think leading up to the Major, when we brought in Carrigan, it was like a two-month boot camp, to be honest—obviously with a few tournaments in between—but everything was geared toward the Major.”

Although Carrigan’s leadership proved to be a major turning point for the organization, that mindset made it difficult for the team to develop a strategy, and that tunnel vision left some gaps once the pressure of the Major had subsided.

Niko, Kyosuke, The Players, and Momentum

Niko stands in front of the IEM Cologne trophy. Image: @ESLCS via YouTube.

BLAST staff asked Zonik whether the team had experienced a loss of momentum after the Major. Although Zonik felt that this was a real experience, he clarified that it’s something many—and even most—of the “top teams” in the Tier 1 league go through.

“I don’t think people have taken their foot off the gas, but from a more psychological standpoint, if you look at players like Nico and Kyosuke: Nico has been chasing a Major title for so many years, and Kyosuke just won one—it’s also important for them to figure out what the next step is, and for Maxim to know that he’s still a young player who needs to improve and develop, and that we’re not letting up.”

But so far, I haven’t seen any of us slacking off; we just need to set a few more goals for the team and work toward them step by step. It’s been several long months since the Grand Tournament, and I think some of the top teams are feeling it.

The “Falcons” are “experimenting” to solve their map pool issues

One of the biggest issues Zonica identified during the 2026 season was the team’s map pool. “We could also see that we were playing a lot of the same maps. We didn’t really have a grasp of our map pool. I think that’s why, during the Grand Tournament, we realized that Anubis might be a choice we simply offer.”

Zonic said the team began “experimenting” to resolve the map pool dilemma. The team is testing different options to see what works, as well as updating their compositions on existing maps where it makes sense.

“I think after the Grand Tournament, we realized a lot: what do we actually need? Right now, we’re just trying to use our cards a little more intelligently, which is why we’re experimenting. We’re choosing maps that work well in practice, but we don’t know how good they really are until we see the official results.”

“Those were long months,” zonic said of the Cologne Major and the Esports World Cup.

The Falcons and Ancient Team

The Ancient map in Counter-Strike. Image: Valve

The Falcons have consistently struggled with the Ancient map. Zonic was candid about this, saying that the team plays poorly in the mid zone. He reiterated that the Falcons are “a little behind the mark, to be honest” and need to spend more time studying it.

He also noted that the team has recently looked weaker on the T-side and needs to work on the fundamentals across the board. Zonic made it clear that this isn’t limited to Ancient, noting that the team has also struggled on Nuke and Mirage on the T-side, so the fix needs to be a team-wide effort rather than a focus on a single map.

Issues with the T-side and mid-game

“I think we’re a little behind on the T-side; maybe we need to work a little harder in different areas, and we need to have the fundamentals in place. At least, that’s what the three matches showed: we’re barely managing to take the mid, and even when we do, we’re a bit unsure of how to approach the mid in the round. And that’s what we need to focus on as a team after we get a little more of a break, because we’ve been on the road for a month now.”

zonic also said that he’s been talking to the other players to finalize the “Falcons” team’s map pool for 2026. In particular, he asked Karrigan about his comfort maps and playstyle as IGL. “Before Karrigan joined, [Ancient] was one of our weaker maps, and given our roster, it should be one of our stronger maps—and we’ve put a lot of effort into it. But we can’t just keep doing that—we need to work on all maps, and the same goes for Ancient. […]

We’ve also had tough T-sides on Nuke and Mirage, so we have to work on all the maps. But, of course, you pay a little more attention to the maps that you think will suit us and where we need to be better.”

Where is the “Falcons” team headed?

Given the grueling travel schedule that had worn the team down, Zonik’s main conclusion was that the “Falcons” needed a proper break to regroup. The team had been in “on” mode for too long and hadn’t had time to sit down and analyze their core gameplay.

The final weekend of the BLAST Open will run through September 6. After the tournament concludes, the “Falcons” will compete in ESL Pro League Season 24 in October. Later in November, IEM Beijing 2026 will once again put them to the test.

Stay tuned for the latest Counter-Strike esports news.